By: Brian Berger

He aimed to liberate America aesthetically and socially.

By: Jerrold Freitag

Arranging and rearranging was his witchcraft.

By: Joe Alterio

Everything that ever was, and is now, and ever will be.

By: Tor Aarestad

Driven by a desire to create music that white bandleaders couldn’t play.

By: Greg Rowland

He invites us to fail better with our every attempt to explore his sonic presence.

By: Joe Alterio

Though he ended up on the world’s biggest stages, he was a mensch.

By: Brian Berger

He was fluent in all jazz and classical idioms.

By: Brian Berger

The irrepress­ible embod­iment of America’s racial ambi­guities

By: Brian Berger

He played unique variations on the art-life dialectic.

By: Brian Berger

From his 1956 debut album onward, his sound was unique.

By: Mark Kingwell

His horn rendered a neurotic Scott Fitzgerald beauty in sound.

By: Chris Fujiwara

The Ten Best Jazz Records for Driving

By: Greg Rowland

He pushed the Hammond’s delicacy and dirt the furthest.

By: Brian Berger

She knew her idiom, and never half-assed it.

By: Franklin Bruno

His sound was brawny, guttural, and tremendously expressive.